Students compete in annual college challenge

Brickwork and carpentry apprentices went head to head yesterday as part of an annual challenge which has run for more than 20 years at Shrewsbury College.

The competition, which is sponsored and judged by local employers from the Federation of Master Builders, aims to increase skill levels and provide students with the opportunity to gain valuable experience competing in their trade.

As part of the challenge students are required to interpret information from a technical drawing and construct a piece of brickwork or carpentry in a specified amount of time. On completion, the best overall student is crowned Apprentice of the Year and receives the FMB challenge trophy.

This year Brickwork came out on top, led by Ryan Stevens, 17, apprentice at C Chetwood Building Contractors of Admaston, Telford.

Judge Ron Brown of R E Brown Builders Ltd said: “As always it was a very difficult decision. The students showed excellent workmanship and are a credit to the College and to themselves.”

Shrewsbury College Brickwork tutor, Steven Thomas, commented: “The standard of work was exceptionally high – it was a challenging task for both trades, which they had to complete in a short space of time. The competition tested their skills and accuracy and they all worked really hard.”

“What’s even more outstanding is that Ryan came first in the Senior Brickwork competition at the Welsh heat of SkillBuild 2012 earlier this week and will now progress to the national final in September,” he added.

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